What Happened to My Otouto?
by Air's Lil Chibi
Summary: Itachi and Kisame stumble upon Sasuke only to find he's not how his older weasel of a brother remembers he was. Now he's starting to ask himself what's happened to his otouto, who has become flirtatious towards whomever they come across! In response to Reineserpent's challenge. Before pursuit of Itachi arc. (Not ItaSasu.) Road to ninja! Sasuke. Rated T for future content.
1. Prologue

Author's note: This is my first story, but I'll try my best not to make this horrible. This story is based on Reineserpent's challenge.

**Disclaimer: I am not Masashi Kishimoto, therefore I don't own Naruto.**

"Damn… what was that?"

Sasuke looked around to find himself in what appeared to be Amegakure. He was lying there on the ground with his raven mane getting drenched in the rain. Alone. How did he end up like this? He gathered his memory from what he assumed was the cause of this.

[O_O]

"_Sasuke Uchiha," Tsunade began formally. _

"_Since Sakura and Kakashi are currently occupied elsewhere, I thought I'd give you a solo mission that might help you improve your stealth. It's a B-rank. I warn you, though, this is a bit more dangerous than what you're used to. It's fairly simple: I need you to infiltrate an ancient library in Kusagakure."_

_A stealth mission, eh? He was more of a social individual; he didn't care for holding back words when he was with cute little Sakura-chan, shy as she may be. He wouldn't mind some "teamwork", but he wasn't giving everything very much effort. It seemed futile to him, anyway. The Uchiha had opted to spend time conversing instead of training._

"_There, you should find many abandoned scrolls on clan secrets and kinjutsu. You must retrieve any and all that contain unknown information on the Uzumaki clan." _

_Sasuke thought of Kushina Uzumaki. She, along with her husband Minato Namikaze, had died on a mission a few years ago. She was the last full blooded Uzumaki, so why would the hokage want information on a clan that no longer exists?_

_The flat chested woman handed him a map. "The point marked may not be exact, but it'll still be helpful to you." She gave him a small smile while pushing her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose. "Good luck," she added softly._

[O_O]

_Traveling to his destination hadn't taken as long as he thought. Just about three days was all it took. The first was alright, though the other two the young man had spent sleepless. His legs were almost giving out when had finally reached the ruins. It was a good thing the area it was located was practically deserted._

_But something felt awfully wrong about it._

_Of course, Sasuke continued his mission somewhat warily. Usually, the raven wasn't like this, and if he was with his team, he would've played it off as best as he could. His teammates weren't in his presence, though: That was all the more reason to worry. He wandered into a dark entrance with dim light._

_After surveying the place, he finally found where the library was. It was tiring going through winding hallways and many suspicious rooms. There was an eerie feeling here- almost as if there was another person hidden somewhere. Sasuke was cautious as read from one scroll to the next to see if any of the content had at least mentioned the surname "Uzumaki". Soon enough, he came across one that hadn't made sense. The writing on it looked like gibberish, but it suddenly revealed to have an old seal._

_Stones started to crumble from the ceiling, and a blinding light engulfed the genin._


	2. Encounter in Amegakure!

AN: Thank you Loaded Faint Of hearts for the little review! *Gives you cookie.* And thank you to anyone who is reading this… I assure you that this will be longer than the prologue. XD So, onto the fic!

**Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto, not me.**

Sasuke scrambled to get up frantically as people on the street were walking around him on the sidewalk. "Why are people out when it's raining?" He thought to himself. It baffled him greatly, but he decided he had more important things to worry about. Why was he here in Amegakure, anyway? Wasn't he supposed to be in Kusa to get the information Tsunade had sent him to get? "That light I saw…." He whispered.

He stood up. Man, was his behind was sore!

He then took a crinkly piece of paper out of his pocket, which was now soaked. Unfortunately, Amegakure wasn't on the map. That wasn't even the worst part about the situation. There was absolutely nowhere to go! Without much sleep (unless unconsciousness counts), how could one possibly get aid before returning to Konoha? Oh screw it, he just needed to get back alive.

Even if he was by himself at the moment.

[O_O]

"Kisame, where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Well, I knew we'd be hungry on our way, so I thought we should get some dango before we depart from here."

Itachi growled. To say he was displeased with his partner was an _understatement_. As a fair warning, he simply "hn"d. Irritation shone in his sharingan eyes.

"Lighten up- it won't take very long." The shark said.

A burning glare was then sent his way.

Instead of fueling what seemed to be a one-sided argument to Itachi, he replied, "Fine."

"Just don't keep me waiting forever. Leader-sama informed us this is a significant mission."

Kisame smirked.

[O_O]

Damp onyx hair clung to Sasuke's face as he peered around buildings, trying to find his way wherever the heck the border may be to start his trip back to the Leaf Village. He was scared out his mind here since it was so unfamiliar to him. He had read once that it was dangerous territory to be in because of some ninja organization… What was it? Akatsuki or something?

That aside, he's never been here before. He knew the weather in Ame was usually like this, though. How annoying it was! It was ruining his hair and overall putting him in a bad mood. He sighed. This was impossible.

After walking on a hopeless path to escape, he soon came across a dango stand that was just off into the distance a bit. Maybe I could stop there, the raven mused. Perhaps someone could actually help him. He ran with his remaining energy towards it.

He was getting closer and closer by the minute.

The stand luckily stood out from most of the other buildings. It was small, but also the closest establishment by. Someone was bound to help him.

He stepped forward quickly only a few yards away when he saw two figures walking out of the place. They were vaguely visible in the rain and touch of mist. Something he noticed about them was, though, they were wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them. The men must have been heading in his direction. They halted in front of him.

[O_O]

Itachi and Kisame were exiting the dango stand they had stopped at, which Kisame praised for being the highest of quality. The Uchiha couldn't complain. It was nice to go somewhere to eat his favorite food with the other solely because it was probably the only time he'd actually get some peace for a while. Admittedly, he wasn't that annoying. To tell the truth, Deidara was the one person that got on his nerves. Still though…

The sharingan wielder suddenly spotted someone.

He had paused when he saw the trashiest looking young man wearing a black shirt, violet short sleeved jacket, green cargo pants, standard blue ninja sandals, small gold bangle bracelet, and a necklace with a… Uchiha crest on it? His hair was being weighed down by the water droplets in them, but he could tell that it looked like the trademark duckbuttke hairstyle of a certain foolish little brother. He looked at the elder, which in return earned him a "Hn."

Right when he was just about to ask the two for help-

"Isn't that your younger brother, Itachi?" Kisame asked, readying his Samehada for battle.

"Sasuke…?"

The younger shrugged. "Aniki? This is where you've been for so long?"

Itachi flashed his sharingan and pulled out kunai from his weapon's pouch from inside his cloak. He proceeded to throw two warning shots.

They just _barely_ missed Sasuke's head.


	3. A Third Member to the Group:Sasuke Joins

**Disclaimer: I am not Masashi Kishimoto. Naruto is his. **

"Hey, come on now, that's not a way to greet your brother." Neither Sasuke's tone, nor his face revealed smugness. His outfit and appearance weren't the only thing different about him.

No… There was something more to it.

Sasuke leered at them. He didn't look surprised or bothered in the least.

Itachi scoffed. He disappeared to leave crows in his wake. Kisame assumed that was his cue to use Samehada to occupy him- to screw with the teen as a way to get him distracted. Simply half-heartedly swinging the shark skin sword was wasteful of his abilities, but this brat was not going to get in their way. He wouldn't look forward to being berated by Leader if that were to happen. It _won't_ happen.

The brunette evaded any potential slashes from the shark scarcely. Call it grace, but his movements were far from suave- really rough and quick. It was something along the lines of _swagger._ Shifting sharply and abruptly was all he could do.

Soon enough, Itachi managed to get behind him and made hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" (Yes, in the rain, I know.) Then, the other sibling just stood there.

The smaller Uchiha grinned, which made the raven haired nuke-nin feel insulted almost.

"Substitution Jutsu!"

He saw that coming, but what he nearlyregretted to not predict was….

"Windmill Triple Blades!

Okay, the weasel could handle the log. This, though, was a technique being blatantly misused right in front of his eyes. It could have worked nicely with the Sharingan to ensure it would've been successful. Heck, channeling a chidori through it would've been a great combination.

He avoided the one pulled back shuriken without a second thought.

Blindly running towards him, Sasuke rapidly flashed through several hand signs and yelled, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Four Sasukes headed forward with blank faces. Itachi dodged each of their attacks. Some shuriken got rid of the clones, and Itachi kicked the real one at the back of the head. Sasuke landed face forward on the ground.

"This isn't a welcoming party? I would've thought you'd be pleasedto see me."

That statement received a slight chuckle from Kisame.

He had heard this one alone killed Orochimaru, so why couldn't the younger do a little better than this? It was kind of pathetic to tell the truth. Kisame expected more of the survivor of the Uchiha massacre; though, he did last longer than the last battle he remembered the brothers having in Konoha. How long had it been since then? Three years? About that time.

Sasuke stood up and dusted the dirt off of his face, which had a couple of scratches.

"What? Did you not recognize me?" It was a genuine question.

"Tch," was the response he got.

Again, Kisame laughed.

"Hey, Itachi, maybe we should bring him with us."

"Why do you say that?" Itachi tried to keep his usual calm, stoic composure.

[O_O]

How did he get talked into this?

Itachi sighed. Atleast they were heading out of Ame, because all of them had been soaked. While the shark didn't mind, he did. The boy, he wasn't sure of… His otouto wasn't brooding as he foresaw. Though there hasn't been any conversation since they started their departure from the Village Hidden in the Rain.

For five friggin' hours, the men had been dripping wet and extremely cold on their way to find somewhere to stay. It did take a while to find a quaint town with an inn.

[O_O]

"_Ah, finalllllly~!"_ Sasuke purred.

He walked through the doorway of their room dry and warmer now that they were inside. It was a decent size. The one thing that disturbed Itachi was there were _two_ beds in it. It was a stroke of luck for them this room was even available, so he left his concerns about the unnerving fact unsaid.

"I'm going to the onsen as soon as possible, if either of you'd like to join me."

Kisame flashed a grin to reveal sharp teeth, which threw the boy off.

"Sure, just give me a few minutes."

The young man ran off to the men's changing rooms. Well this isn't _awkward as hell_.

"Kisame, disorienting, vindictive nuke-nin of Kirigakure. Yeah, that title fits," Itachi thought to himself.

The raven found an empty drawer next the second bed and stored the few things they brought. Medical supplies, their weapons pouches, and... Ramen? Eight small packages of it fell out of the bag, for they were occupying the most space.

"Kisame."

"Yes?"

"Why did you pack all of this ramen?"

"You never know when you're going to need it, Itachi-san."

Right_._ Like they're going to need any ramen for lifeordeathsituations. Or to satisfy sudden Sasuke's cravings for reminiscing in his days in Konoha.

"Kisame?"

"Hm?"

"If you don't leave this room," Itachi paused and turned around with a face more intimidating than Yamato's. "… I will not be afraid to use Tsukuyomi on you."

Kisame shrugged. "Alright, alright. I get it- you want to be alone."

[O_O]

"Mmmmm," Sasuke moaned.

"Visiting the onsen after traveling for who knows how long is nice."

"It certainly takes stress off you." A voice mused behind him.

The boy spun around in the water to see his brother's companion. "Oh, you again."

[O_O]

AN: Thank you all, you little lovelies for the reviews, follows, and faves! *o*

I'm sorry for taking a while- I had a bit of writer's block. Since I decided I needed a break from stressing over the fic, I watched the Road to Ninja movie. (Yes, I hadn't seen the movie until then, so feel free to point and laugh.)My speakers weren't working, but atleast there were English subtitles.

I must say that it wasn't at all like I expected. I remembering thinking halfway into the movie: "Where the hell is Sasuke? I've only see him TWICE." He had practically NO screen time whatsoever, but oh well. I got to admit that I loved seeing Naruto spend time with his parents, even if they weren't the real ones. What brought me to tears was watching the part when the actual ones sealed Kyuubi within him and saying a few things before they died. Menma really pissed me off though.

Whoever decided to make the Akatsuki mercenaries was a genius. "There was no contract to fight against the nine-tails. We didn't get paid for that." XD And I was sure that the moment Itachi swept Sakura off her feet and jumped on Deidara's bird just screamed ItaSaku. (Just so you know, I don't particularly love or hate Sakura so don't kill me.)

I hope you enjoyed this chap- *Shot* I know it's too short, don't kill me. I promise a much longer chapter by sometime next week! Ja ne!


	4. Fires Ablaze, Tension at Bay

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Not me.**

_[Recap]_

"_Mmmmm," Sasuke moaned. "Visiting the onsen after traveling for who knows how long is nice."_

"_It certainly takes stress off you." A voice mused behind him._

_The boy spun around in the water to see his brother's companion. "Oh, you again."_

_[Recap end]_

"Heh heh. Not that sharp, are you?"

He was going to unwrap the towel around his waist when-

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" The raven wailed.

"Hmph, you could be a little nicer Sasuke-_chan_."

A light blush spread itself across his cheeks. He mumbled something to himself incoherently.

"What was that?" The shark man asked, very amused with the reaction he got.

"Nothing." The teen shuffled in through the water to the other side of the onsen and faced away from him.

Kisame undid his towel, tossing it near what he presumed to be Sasuke's. He then seeped into the hot water and began savoring how the heat felt on his body. "Come on. Relax and unwind. That's what it's here for."

Sasuke just crossed his arms. Kisame sighed. "Loosen up, we're both men. Or I think-"

"Ne?"

Kisame appeared behind him. "Hm? What Sasuke? Is something bothering you?" He whispered jokingly. The boy jumped after hearing the voice and saw, disturbingly enough, the shark man leaning next to him. Kisame held back a chuckle, afraid he might scare the young one _too_ much.

He withdrew himself from Sasuke's personal space. "So… I'd like to discuss something with you."

"What?"

"It's about Itachi."

"Go on," Sasuke urged.

"How was it that you were so at ease when you saw him? I thought after everything, you'd be out to get Itachi [1]."

"You know about it?"

"Yeah, I do. It bothers me a little. Doesn't it bother _you_?"

"…Look at you worrying about me." Sasuke sounded amused.

Kisame frowned. He didn't see how Sasuke could be passed such an event so easily. He sat back and didn't say another word about it, believing he shouldn't speak too much about something he didn't know nearly as much about as the Uchiha brothers. He settled after the brief moment of confusion.

Kisame just had to get over the fact Sasuke didn't care.

[O_O]

Meanwhile, Itachi was occupied with more important things.

"I wonder what exactly our mission is?"

When Itachi and Kisame had been sent to the Land of Tea, Leader said it was urgent. But all of the details on what they had to do were written in the scroll the Sharingan wielder was now holding in his hands. He hadn't dared reading it before, but it there was no time like the present.

He slowly unraveled it.

"What the fu-"

[O_O]

"Art is a BOOM!"

Deidara managed to nearly decapitate his current partner yet again with his clay bombs. _Man, _was Tobi annoying the crap out of him!

"Sempai, you didn't mean for that to happen, right? Ne? I'm sure you didn't. By the way, could make me a few clay ornaments? The holidays are just around the corner!" Tobi chattered.

"TOBI!"

[O_O]

After about ten minutes of the amazing Itachi Uchiha's eye twitching, Sasuke and Kisame came back to the room wearing what they had one before.

"Aniki!" Sasuke automatically ran to his brother's side. Poor Itachi gave him the creepiest smile known to man. It was a forced one, so all the more creepy it was.

"It's okay, Sasuke." He lied through his teeth.

Itachi's eyes phased in Mangekyou Sharingan. Black flames licked at the duo's feet. He was using Amaterasu?

Oh shit.

"ITACHI!" His partner yelled. "Calm. Down."

Whatever possessed Itachi to do something like this was riling him up, too.

Soon enough, the elder Uchiha turned back to his normal-not-blind self. They shared an awkward glance at each other.

"You seem… Troubled. Are you?"

You know what the raven said? "Hn." The odd thing was his eyes were twitching violently. He picked up the scroll he was previously staring at and handed it over to Kisame.

It read:

To 'Tachi and 'Same,

Remember that rare tea I drink all the time? I ran out. So you WILL get me some.

From your neighborly leader with a God complex,

Pain

….

"I. AM. GOING. TO. KILL. SOMEONE!"

"What?!" Sasuke's bulged out at the thought.

"Leader sent us out to get his TEA?"

"… Shut the HELL UP, Kisame! You're upsetting my otouto!" Itachi hissed, and being the big brother he is, he wrapped his arms protectively around Sasuke.

"You wouldn't calm down earlier! Heck, you almost killed us! Who are YOU to talk when you were one that was endangering our lives?"

"I almost killed you. I wouldn't dare hurt my dear foolish little brother."

_Why was he talking about Sasuke like an object?_

"Right. Yet you looked like you were ready to murder him back in Ame."

Itachi's eyes twitched. Noticeably.

_This is going get ugly, isn't it?_

"Hn."

Kisame sighed. Making that statement seemed like a suicide mission, but the reaction he evoked from Itachi… Really?

It would've actually been comical to see Itachi lose his cool. Very amusing indeed.

"I suppose you _are_ a tough nut to crack, even though it took me nearly eight years to admit defeat, trying to make you explode." Kisame acknowledged.

[O_O]

Somewhere else…

"Art is an EXPLOSION!"

"Like diarrhea?"

"TOBI!"

[O_O]

Hey guys! I know what you're thinking. "What took so long?! " Honestly, it HAS been awhile. I'm not afraid to say that. Though I SERIOUSLY tried. I was trying to start new fanfics, I had to test for my new belt in TaeKwonDo, freshman orientation, I could go on and on. Eventually, one week turned into to three weeks, and well I guess you know the rest. :P I'd just like to say in my defense that I tried. You may now accuse me of having a short attention span. Really, though, I am a procrastinator. No joke.

Anyway, this fic is starting to sound like it belongs under humor and drama rather humor and romance. The fight between Kisame and Itachi wasn't meant to be completely taken seriously for the most part. But it was pretty OOC. But it's a step into the actual plot that's bound to unfold. And I [attempted] to make a fu- BOOM joke, because doesn't enjoy such a _classic_ reference?

**BTW, the onsen scene (until it got serious) was so perverted. I don't even know where it came from. o.O**

[1] Kisame is referring to how canon Sasuke's goal was to kill Itachi. Assuming that in Road to Ninja that the Uchiha Massacre never happened, AU Sasuke mistook him for just talking about Itachi leaving the village (and starting Akatsuki?)

Well, now I have two day until TaeKwonDo camp, so no more all nighters until next Saturday I suppose. I hope I don't die before it's over. It'll be friggin HOT outside!

Ja ne.


End file.
